The BackPage - November/ December 2020

Intent to Administer COVID-19 Vaccine

All providers intending to receive and administer COVID-19 vaccine must fill out and submit an intent form in the Virginia Electronic Registration for Immunization Programs (VERIP) system. To submit your intent to administer COVID-19 vaccine, please visit our website: https://apps.vdh.virginia.gov/VERIP/Home.aspx and click the link to complete the COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Intent Form.

Virtual Site Visits

Consultants are continuing to reach out to providers to schedule virtual site visits for VVFC and VVFA compliance, storage & handling, and IQIP site visits. Consultants must utilize a virtual platform with screen-sharing functionality for document/record review. The platform used by Virginia is GoToWebinar and GoToMeeting which are HIPAA compliant. Once consultants are able to return to the field, Virginia will transition to hybrid visits where a portion of the visit will be completed virtually and the remainder will be completed in-person.

Ask the Experts: IAC Answers Questions about Meningococcal Disease and the Vaccines That Prevent It

As an additional service to IAC Express readers, IAC has published a special edition to provide new and updated Ask the Experts questions and answers from IAC experts. This issue includes Q&As about meningococcal disease and the use of MenB and MenACWY vaccines based on updated ACIP recommendations published by CDC in September 2020.

You can find all of these questions and answers, plus more than a thousand others about vaccines and vaccine administration, on our Ask the Experts gateway page at www.immunize.org/askexperts.

IAC's team of experts includes Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH (team lead); Carolyn Bridges, MD, FACP; William Atkinson, MD, MPH; and Deborah Wexler, MD.

Flu Prevention

CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses. Getting a flu vaccine during 2020-2021 will be more important than ever. Flu vaccines will not prevent COVID-19, but they will reduce the burden of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths on the health care system and conserve scarce medical resources for the care of people with COVID-19. For more information about flu prevention visit: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/prevention.htm

Flu Vaccine is Available

Flu vaccines are available. To request additional doses, please notify Susan Kocen.

Adult Vaccine Update

The NFID Clinical Vaccinology Course (CVC) will be held as a virtual event on November 15-17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Register at: https://cvc.nfid.org/register/.

The NFID Clinical Vaccinology Course (CVC) will be held as a virtual event on November 15-17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By transitioning to a virtual format, the program will continue to offer a safe and meaningful exchange of scientific and clinical information, educational programming, and networking opportunities for all attendees.

The planning committee is dedicated to creating a valuable learning experience. Registration is now open and we hope you will join us for the new and exciting format.

This course will provide the latest information on important development in clinical vaccinology and the use of vaccines.

Overall Course Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

Describe how vaccines work in providing individual and community protection
Describe the current Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) immunization recommendations across the lifespan
Describe indications, contraindications, efficacy, and safety profiles for ACIP-recommended vaccines for routine vaccination and special situations
Discuss innovative and practical strategies to improve communication with patients, parents, and caregivers about the benefits and risks of vaccination and address vaccine hesitancy
Identify best practices for implementing or improving immunization programs in specific practice settings
Recognize attitudinal, knowledge, and other barriers contributing to suboptimal vaccination rates